Shattered Minds
by Shinigami-chan
Summary: Duo is captured and is tortured until his mind breaks. i hope you guys like this.
1. Default Chapter

Hi

Hi! I know what you are thinking. 'Another story?' Yes it's another story that I've been thinking about for a while. I got this idea from a Ranma1/2 story I read a while ago. I don't remember the name or the author of the story or where I read it, but I loved the idea. So I decided to do my own version of it with Gundam Wing. The basic story was Ranma developed Split personalities disorder from the Neko-ken training. So who ever wrote the original story, thank you for writing that great story and if you object to my using your base line, just e-mail me at [videlchan@hotmail.com][1] and tell me and I'll take it off FF.net. So here is my Gundam wing story, Shattered Minds!!!

Shattered Minds

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Chapter 1

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Duo Maxwell dashed down the alley in a desperate attempt to escape the four OZ soldiers that were chasing him. 'I just can't believe that they were waiting for me.' He thought as he climbed over a chain link fence and took off again. 'It was like they knew ahead of time that I was coming. There must have been a leak in the Professor's group.'

Suddenly, ahead of Duo, three soldiers jumped out of the shadows and grabbed him before he could dodge their hands. "Where do you think you are going?" one of the men snarled as he twisted one of Duo's arms up between his shoulder blades.

Duo said nothing but continued to struggle against the men as their friends arrived, despite the pain as the man twisted the arm higher, almost to the point it was going to break. His head was twisted around as some one grabbed his meter long braid and yanked hard.

"The commander wants to see you." A soldier whispered just before a fist crashed into his jaw and blackness overcame him.

Duo awoke to a throbbing pain in his jaw and his limbs cuffed to a table. As he opened his eyes, a blurry figure leaned over him and adjusted an electrode on Duo's temple. "What…?" Duo mumbled and the man paused for a moment before finishing the adjustment and stepped back. Turning his head, Duo saw a man in a white coat with black hair that was cropped on top with the back long enough to be put into a small ponytail standing next to none other than Trowa Barton, who was also wearing a white coat.

"Ah, 02. It's so good of you to join us." The man with the ponytail said as he read something on a clipboard. "My name is Dr, Tomao and this is my assistant Trowa Gordon. I have some questions I would like you to answer." 

"Fuck you." Duo ground out as he took stock of his body. He was only wearing his pants and he had more electrodes on his arms and chest. There were also wires running from the metal bands that encircled his wrists, ankles, and his forehead.

"You really shouldn't say things like that." Tomao said as he flicked a switch and suddenly, a huge jolt of electricity ran through Duo's body, making him gasp in pain.

"You didn't like that, did you?" Tomao said with a cruel grin as he turned off the power. "That was only a jolt of low voltage. Every time you refuse to answer a question, the voltage it raised a little bit." He continued as he turned to the console. "As you see, there is only ten levels and the highest level, no one so far had been able to survive. It seems to turn their brains into pudding while their flesh is slowly cooked."

Duo shuddered briefly as he got a mental picture of that happening to someone, while vowing to himself that he would not tell the doctor anything.

"Now, what is your name?"

"…"

The doctor flipped the switch and watched as Duo arched against his restraints, but refused to make a sound. Every time the question was repeated, the voltage was turned up, but Duo refused to say anything, even scream, knowing that that was what the doctor wanted. On the eighth level, the doctor didn't stop after a few seconds. Instead, he kept the electricity turned on until finally, Duo screamed, a deep, pain filled scream that echoed in Trowa's soul.

Trowa had been sent to infiltrate the base while Duo was sent on another mission to retrieve data from a different part of the same base. Trowa didn't understand why Duo had been sent while he was there. After all, he could have very easily smuggled information out. But he followed his orders and Duo followed his.

Trowa didn't really know Duo. He had meet up with the longhaired pilot a few times on some missions, but he had never really like him. He had just seemed so flaky and easygoing to be able to complete his missions effectively and he had been sure he sure he was right when Duo had been capture. But now, he had a new respect for Duo. He had refused to answer even one of the questions and had remained silent, even though he had to be in agony.

Duo, on the other hand, had wondered just what Trowa was doing there. He hadn't really like the tall, uni-banged pilot because he seemed to take things way to seriously, like the Shenlong Gundam's pilot, Wufei, who he had meet a few times. Those two and Heero, where the most closed off people Duo had ever met and if it wasn't for Quatre, Duo would have given up on the others. Now, as the pain coursed through his body in wave after wave of torment, Duo screamed and as he screamed, he felt something brake inside before soothing blackness surrounded him.

Dr. Tomao turned off the power after Duo lapsed into unconsciousness. "Well, he held out longer than I thought he would." He said to Trowa, who numbly nodded. "Disconnect him and take him to a holding cell. We'll continue this when he recovers a little."The doctor added before he spun on his heel and walked out of the room.

Trowa hurriedly disconnected the wires and cuffs from Duo and picked him up gently. Placing the longhaired boy on a gurney and coving him completely with a sheet, he pushed him out of the room and down the hall.

During his time there, he had been apart of some very weird and sick experiments, learning more about what was going on around the base and the labs. Because of his position of assistant to Dr, Tomao, he was allowed to go where he needed unsupervised. So he quickly wheeled Duo down the hall to his room, where he quickly sent a message to Instructor H.

**'H, complication has appeared in the plan.'** He wrote and a few seconds later a message popped up on his screen.

** **

**'What is the problem?'**

'The pilot of the Deathscythe Gundam has been capture. Dr. Tomao has given him electro shock therapy to try and make him talk and while he didn't say anything, he is currently unconscious and extremely pale. I'm not sure he will survive when Tomao continues the torture.'

'If you have finished your work, get him and yourself out of there and destroy the base.'

'Affirmative. Signing off.'

As he shut down the computer, Trowa contemplated how he was going to sneak Duo out to Heavyarms, which was hidden over a mile away. Finally he decided to get him out the back, and then detonate the bombs he had planted all over the base. In the confusion, he could hotwire a car or truck and get there as fast as possible. Then he would join up with the circus again and hide there for a while as Duo healed.

Quickly he changed into his jeans and his turtleneck, before putting the lab coat over it to avoid getting caught for as long as he could. Draping Duo over his shoulder, he was stunned at the lightweight of boy. He couldn't weigh more than 105 pounds. Trowa, himself, weighed around 130 pounds.

'I'll think about it later.' He thought as he opened his door and slipped out. He hurried towards the back entrance of the base where the cars were parked, dodging guards and doctors alike as he escaped the base with his burden. Stealing a car, he drove for at least half a mile before he stopped to detonate the bombs. Watching the explosions lighting up the night sky, he failed to notice Duo open his eyes and sit up in the back seat where Trowa had placed him.

Trowa turned just in time to see Duo get out of the car. He was still shirtless and in the light of the fires, he could see that there were scars that criss-crossed his chest and arms. "Are you all right, Maxwell?" he asked and the braided boy looked at him for a moment before he started screaming.

Trowa watched shocked as the screams started to get louder and Duo started clawing at his hair. Finally, he snapped out of his shock and leapt forward, smashing his fist across the screaming boy's face, knocking him out. He caught him as he collapsed and put him back in the car. He drove as fast as he could to his Gundam and loaded Duo into, placing him in his lap after her had strapped in himself. Cradling the limp boy, he closed the hatch and blasted off towards Quatre's desert base, him being the only person he could think of that could help Duo.

Quatre was just sitting down to breakfast when one of the Maganacs came in to tell him that Trowa had arrived and he was requesting Quatre's help. "Do you know what he needs?" Quatre asked as the man led him down the hall.

"No, he didn't say, but he had an unconscious boy with him. This new one has long brown hair pulled into a braid, though, and he seemed to be in pain." The man said and Quatre looked worried.

"That sounds like Duo, but I wonder what happened to him…" he trailed off as he caught sight of Trowa coming towards him with Duo draped over his shoulder. "What happened to him?!" he exclaimed as he rushed up to the tall boy.

"I'll explain in a moment, but do you have some place I could put him?" Trowa said and Quatre nodded as he headed for a door just down the hall from his room. Opening it, he motioned Trowa to put him on the bed while he told the man to get the first aid kit and a bowl of water along with a couple rags. As soon as the man was gone, he hurried over to the bed and looked down at the still figure of Duo. "What happened?"

Trowa quickly explained what had happened and just as he was finishing, the door opened to admit Abdul, who was carrying the first aid kit, and Rasid, who was carrying a basin of water a few cloths. What would you like us to do, Master Quatre?" Rasid asked as he put the water on the table next to the bed.

"That will be all for now, Rasid. Thanks, but could you see what you could find out about the after effects of electro shock therapy?" Quatre asked and the big man nodded before he turned and left the room, Abdul with him.

"Is there someplace I can connect my laptop to?" Trowa asked as Quatre put a cool washrag on Duo's head.

"There is a connector right over there at the desk." The blond said as he inspected one of the burn marks on Duo's wrist.

"Thanks." Trowa had established a connection to Instructor H within a few minutes.

'H, a problem with Maxwell has come up.'

'What problem?'

'When he woke up, he started screaming and the only way to shut him up was to knock him out. Location in currently with Sandrock's pilot.'

'Stay there with Maxwell and Winner until I can get word to Professor G. will contact you as soon as possible. Signing off.'

As he closed down the connection, Quatre spoke up from behind him. "What did your boss say?"

"He ordered me to stay here with you two until he can get back to me. If that is ok with you." Trowa said and Quatre nodded before turning back to Duo's wrists. He was currently treating the burns from where the metal cuffs had held him down as they conducted the electricity through Duo's body.

Wordlessly, Trowa went to work on the burns on his ankles while Quatre finished with the wrists. Just as Trowa was finishing with the last bandage, Duo's eyes opened and they stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Duo? Are you alright?" Quatre asked as he leaned over the prone form of his friend. Duo looked at him briefly before he turned on his side, away from the blonde who wanted to help. Curling up into a little ball, he stared listlessly at the far wall.

"Duo?" Quatre tried again as he looked at him worriedly. When he made no response, Quatre decided to try his empathic and psychic powers. Turning to Trowa, he said, "Why don't you go get settled into your room? It's two doors to the right, ok?"

Realizing he was being dismissed, Trowa nodded and stood. Casting one last look at Duo, he turned and left the room.

Once Trowa was gone, Quatre settled himself comfortably on the huge bed and gently sent out a probe towards Dou's mind.The probe met resistance though. No matter how hard Quatre tried to get into Duo's mind, it couldn't break through the shield. Just as he was about to give up, a burst of psychic energy slammed in to him and threw him across the room. Slamming into the wall hard, Quatre slid down to sit on the floor, stunned.

"Why are you trying to enter our mind?" Duo said in a cold voice that sounded older than his fifteen years.

"I'm just…trying to help…you, Duo." Quatre gasped as he tried to get his breath back.

"Duo doesn't need your help."

"What? Duo…?" Quatre said confused.

"I'm not Duo. I'm Guardian."

"Guardian? Where's Duo?!"

"He's here, he's just a little bit in…shock." Guardian said as Quatre approached.

"Where did you come from and are there any others in there?" Quatre asked as he gingerly sat at the edge of the bed again.

"Yes, there are ten of us all together."

"But where did you come from and who are you?!" Quatre exclaimed as he studied Duo…er, Guardian.

"We are all part of Duo, but something happened that brought all of us into existence. We don't know what that is though." 

"I do. Duo was captured and torture with electricity. I think that was what happened to him. He didn't start acting strange until after that." Quatre said and Guardian looked at him in shock.

"What…who…?" Guardian looked like he was going to pass out from shock.

"Dr. Tomao, and from what I hear, he's dead." Quatre said and laid a reassuring hand on Guardian's arm. It was easy to think of Guardian as a separate person from Duo as the two were nothing alike.

"Guardian, can you introduce me to the others?" Quatre asked as he started to think about what he had heard about multiple personalities syndrome.

"Not all of them. Master, Shinigami, the Inner Child, and Watcher won't come, but the others are willing." Guardian said and Quatre asked why they wouldn't come out. "Well, Master none of us can gat in touch with, Shinigami only comes out when there is danger. Watcher just, watches. She is always aware of everything going on around us. And the inner child just sleeps."

"Did you just say that Watcher is a girl?!" Quatre exclaimed.

"Yes, a couple of us are girls. Me, watcher, Flirt, Play." 

"Oh." Quatre said and studied Guardian as she started to take out the braid. "So, who is going to introduce themselves first?"

"Duo said he wanted to go first, so I'll let him take control." Guardian said and suddenly her posture slouched and Duo was in control.

Trowa had gone to his room like Quatre had suggested and had unpacked the small bag he always kept with him. Sitting on the bed for a little while, he thought back to what had happened.

'He looked so panicked when he screamed.' He thought to him self as he got up and started pacing around. 'It was his whole world had just fallen to pieces around him.' Suddenly, he heard a loud thump from down the hall. Opening his door, he headed back towards Duo's room. He stopped just in front of it and put his ear against the wood. Listening carefully, he followed the conversation incredulously until he heard that Duo wanted to go first. 

Deciding that he had heard enough of this farce, he opened the door and stepped into the room. Looking at the bed, he saw Quatre and Duo sitting close together. Quatre was looking kind of dazed and Duo had his hair loose, cascading down his back in shimmering chestnut waves.

(When Duo and the other personalities talk in their mind, it will be in …. Ok? Now on with the story.)

Duo had just taken control when Trowa had walked in. Why didn't you warn me that he was there, Watcher? he demanded irritably.

I didn't sense him! Watcher exclaimed in shock.

How could you not sense him?! You sense everyone! Bitter exclaimed and the others agreed.

Yeah, that's like saying Duo can't pilot his Gundam. Play said.

Enough, Trowa just asked Duo what game he's playing. Guardian snapped and the others stopped their conversation so that they could hear Duo answer.

"I'm not playing a game Trowa. But here's a question for you. Why the hell did you just stand there and watch as he was zapping me?" Duo snarled angrily as he remembered what had happened.

"To act then would have endangered my mission. I had to wait until we were alone before doing anything." Towa said calmly as he studied the angry boy in front of him.

"Right. Sure. What ever, now where are we and how come Watcher couldn't sense you?"

"We're at my desert base." Quatre said helpfully while Trowa asked "What?"

"Watcher, one of the others. She couldn't sense you and she senses everyone." Duo explained then watched at Trowa shook his head and turned towards Quatre saying, "I think we need to call a doctor or something. I think the electricity has driven him insane."

"I am not insane!" Duo protested hotly and Trowa just looked at him as if he was a child to be patronized. Before Trowa could say anything, or Quatre could defend him, Duo said briskly, "Where is my Deathscythe? I'm assuming that you picked it up and brought it with you considering that it was right next to yours?"

"No. I wasn't able to grab yours too, but I called Howard and he said he'd pick it up." Trowa said quietly as he studied the longhaired pilot.

Before Duo could stop him, Bitter took control. "So you just left it where they could find it, huh?"

"Duo!" Quatre said, shocked.

"Uh-uh. This is Bitter."

"Bitter?" Trowa and Quatre chorused together.

"Yes, you got a problem with that?" Bitter snarled at them before Duo pushed him down and took control. By now, Quatre was starting to recognize Duo when he popped up and said, "Caught you by surprised, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he just popped up before I could stop him. But how did you know that I was in control again?" Duo asked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and head for the dresser across the room and picked up a brush and started trying to untangle his mass of hair.

"I can recognize your core personality when it pops up. One of my sisters has MPS and we were pretty close." Quatre explained and Duo stopped brushing to turn and stare at him.

"You think I'm crazy too, don't you?" he demanded and Quatre franticly shook his head.

"No, no. my sister had three personalities and all three were just part of her original personality. If you combined all of your personalities, you would be exactly like the Duo we all knew. The shock of the torture caused all the different parts of your personality to split apart. That doesn't mean that you're crazy." Quatre said reassuringly and Duo turned his back.

While Quatre had been talking, he had let Guardian up, who had telepathic abilities. Guardian sent a gentle probe into both boys' minds and got their general feelings. Her probe wasn't deep enough to alert them, but it was deep enough for her to tell Duo that both of them think that he's crazy.

"You're lying." He said softly and the others stared at him in shock. "You think I'm crazy, just like Trowa does."

"No…" Quatre started, but Duo cut him off.

"Yes. You're forgetting Guardian in physic. While you were talking, she probed the surfaces of both your minds. You may have had a sister with MPS and maybe it you put all of us together, we'll be like the Duo you knew, but you believe I'm as crazy as the Alliance did when they called me Maxwell's Demon after I swore to get them back for killing everyone at the Maxwell Church and started calling myself Shinigami." Duo said quietly.

"Maxwell Church? Do you mean the Maxwell Massacre? The one that happened about four years ago?" Trowa said into the silence after duo had finished speaking.

"Not many people remember it, especially people about my age." Duo said and started brushing his hair again.

"I was on L2 when it happened because my mercenary group was supposed to help with the capture of the rebels, but we got there to late." Trowa said and Duo looked at him over his shoulder.

"Basically, I have your mercenaries to thank for ruining my life again, huh? I mean, it was bad enough when my parents where killed and I had to live on the streets. It was just as bad when most of the street gang, including Solo, were killed in the plague when there was medicine available, but they didn't want to waste it on street rats, but know I find out that father Maxwell and Sister Helen would be alive if your group had been on time?!" by the end, Duo was screaming and both of the other guys were staring at him in shock.

Suddenly, Duo calmed down and started talking normally again. "I'm sorry, you two, but Duo is a little hysterical right now. Until he calms down, I'll be in control."

"And who are you? You haven't been in control yet." Quatre asked as he watched Duo braid his hair.

"I am Master. Your hypothesis about how we came to be is correct. I am, I guess you would say, Duo's complete potential. All that he is capable of becoming." Master said as he sat down on a chair near the dresser. "Now, is there anything you two would like to question?"

"How about, how long are you going to keep this up Duo?" Trowa said and Master shook his head. "If you don't believe, don't ask stupid questions like that."

"I have one, Duo mentioned calling himself Shinigami and Watcher said that there was a Shinigami in there. What is shinigami?" Quatre asked and ever Trowa's attention was hooked.

"The Shinigami that Duo referred to is the God of Death because he has been surrounded by death almost his entire life. When everyone around him was dieing, he was untouched, so you can see how this would affect him." Master explained and paused for a moment before continuing. "Shinigami, as in the one that Watcher was referring to, is basically our protector. He eliminates all threats to our existence and is basically my direct opposite. While I am the embodiment of all the good Duo can become, Shinigami is the embodiment of the bad he can become. A professional killer so to speak."

As the two guys stared at him, master calmly said, "Why don't you tell one of the Maganacs to get a transport ready. Duo is going to want to go some place where he's comfortable and that is with his Gundam out where he could see the moon. Things have just been happing kind of quickly lately and even if he won't admit it, it's wearing him down. He's been on the run for years now, but then he's always had others with him but since he's got to earth, he's been alone except for visiting with Howard."

"Well, if he needs to be by people, why doesn't he just stay here?" Quatre asked as he got up to pace a little bit.

"He needs to be where people don't treat him like he's insane. Both of you think he is and Quatre's opinion will be reflected in the Maganacs, so it would be worse than being alone if he stayed here." Master said firmly and Quatre stopped pacing to stare at him.

"They don't…" he started, but Master cut him off with a shake of his head. 

"Yes they do. You may not realize it, but they believe that everything you say and do is right and that also means your feelings on something." Master said as he got up and went to stand over by the window. "Duo is about to take control now, so why don't you arrange that transport, Quatre and why don't you see if you can get him some clean clothes, Trowa. He hates for people to see his scars." At master's words, both boys turned their attention to Duo's body, clad only in tattered black pants, the rest having been removed before the torture.

There were scars all over his chest and upper arms and even a few faint ones on his lower, forearms, that would have been invisible it he wasn't so pale. Now with his back turned, they could see what looked like whip marks criss-crossing his back. Not only did they see the scars, though. They also saw how thin he was. They hadn't been paying attention to his body to much earlier because they had been more worried about his mental status to notice how his ribs stuck out a bit. Suddenly, they saw his back stiffen and knew that Duo was back in control when he started to swear. They watched wordlessly as Duo spun around and stalked to the bed and ripped the top sheet off and wrapped it around himself, coving him from neck to ankles with extra material dragging on the floor.

As he started to glare at them in a deadly way, Quatre and Trowa decided that it would be best if they followed Master's orders and hurriedly left the room. You talk too much, Master he snarled silently.

He's not here. He went to one of the areas we cannot get to. Guardian said softly.

They're probably going to tell Howard that we're crazy and then it's just going to be like we stayed here. Howard will pity us or be wary of us and that will be the end of that friendship. We need to go somewhere where no one knows us, were we ca act normally. Bitter said and Play piped up.

Yeah! We can go somewhere and have some fun! I have a few pranks I want to try and I can't do that where people will always be on guard near us.

Maybe there will be some cute people there! Flirt shout happily.

Flirt, you better not flirt with any guys. Duo growled as he got a mental picture of himself snuggled up to a boy who looked like he was going to deck him. As some of the others started to laugh as they too saw the picture, Flirt said, "Oh, come on. Not all guys would do that and we do look feminine. Couldn't we enroll as a guy and a girl? Some of us are girls ya know."

She has a good idea, even if it was prompted by selfishness. Bitter said thoughtfully. 

What do you mean? Duo asked.

If you disguised yourself as a girl, then it would make it harder for anyone looking for you.

Yeah, but if they did find me, they would think I was insane! 

I have to say, this would probably be the best plan. We could go to a privet school and enroll there as Duo and Duet Maxwell, twins that only go to school part time. Guardian said, leaving Duo speechless for a moment.

If we're only going to be part time students, then why don't we go to a public school? Privet schools would ask to many questions. Bitter said and Guardian agreed.

That's great and as far as we know, no one knows that we know English, so America would be the best place to go.

Do I get any say in this? Duo asked plaintively as he got his voice back.

Oh course you do, but if you don't follow this plan, than you will have a lot of us angry at you. Flirt snapped and Duo sighed.

All right, where should we go and should we bring Deathscythe? Duo asked resignedly.

I think I know the perfect place. Rhode Island. Bitter said.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened to admit Trowa, who was carrying a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. "Here Duo. These were the only things I could find close to your size." He said as he gingerly handed the clothes to him.

"Why the hell are you tiptoeing around me?" Duo demanded as he went over to a changing screen that was against one wall.

"…" Trowa didn't reply as he watched Duo disappear behind the screen. He didn't want to say that there had been a man in the mercenary group that had gone insane and everyone had to move slow and carefully around him or he would lash out at them.

Would you like me to read him? Guardian asked and Duo shook his head.

Nah, he probably thinks I'm going to attack him and I could do without having that confirmed. Thanks for offering, though.

Walking out from behind the screen, he studied himself in a mirror hung on the wall near by. The jeans were huge and threatened to slip off his hips and the t-shirt was big enough to almost swallow him. "I need a belt." He muttered to himself as he turned back towards where Trowa was. But he wasn't there any more. Sighing, he headed for the door, hold his pant up with one hand.

Outside the door, he found a Maganac waiting for him. "Master Quatre asked that I escort you to the dinning room for a late breakfast before you leave."

"Ok, sure, do you have a belt I could use? These pants are to big." Duo asked and the man nodded as he led him to a storage room two floors down. Inside, they found a rack of different kinds of belts. Picking a black braided looking one, Duo slipped it on and adjusted his pants.

Turning back to the Maganac, he noticed the man was looking at him with a mixture of pity, compassion, and confusion. Asking Guardian to see what the guy was thinking about that made him look like that, he slipped under and let her take control so that she could read his mind.

It seems that Quatre told Rasid about us and he told some of his men. This one is currently thinking what a shame someone this young is crazy and that we have to wear clothes way to big for us. He is also confused because we aren't acting like he thought a crazy person would. Guardian said and let Duo back in control.

Scowling, he walked next to the man almost soundlessly as the man led him to the dinning room. Entering, he saw Quatre and Trowa were talking to someone on a vid-phonenear the door. Waving the man away, he approached them and listened to their conversation from a few feet away. They had yet to notice that he was there so he heard something that they wouldn't want to hear.

_ _

_'…don't think it's a good idea for him to be near his Gundam right now if what you say is true. He could be a bigger threat to us than to OZ right now. I'll ship Deathscythe to space and store it on Libra until he's recovered enough to fight again.'_ He heard Howard say from the screen.

"That's a good idea. We'll sedate him for now and keep him that way during transit to you." Quatre said and Trowa nodded.

_ _

_'How are you going to do it?'_ Howard asked.

"I sent one of the men to bring him here for a late breakfast before he leaves and I told Rasid to put some sleeping powder in his food and drink. Once he's asleep we'll put him n the transport and when he starts to wake up, one of the men will give him a sedative to keep him out of it until he gets there." Quatre said and now it was Howard's turn to nod.

Before they could say anything else, Duo whispered, "How could you? I trusted you, all of you." He felt as if his heart was going to break as he stared at the shocked faces in front of him.

"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, a cold feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. 'How much had he over heard?!' he thought franticly to himself. Looking at Duo, he was shocked to see tears in eyes full of pain.

"Duo, it's for your own good." Trowa said firmly as he took a step forward.

"For my own good? Drugging me is for my own good? Shooting crap into my veins is for my own good?! I don't think so. I may not have liked you too much, Trowa, but I always trusted you. And you Quatre. We were friends! I trusted you like I've trusted no one since Solo died and this is how you repay that trust?! By plotting to drug me?!" Duo exclaimed as he backed away from the slowly advancing Trowa.

Guardian! Can you stop them for a minute so that we can get out of here? Duo asked and Guardian took control. Throwing a physic blast at the two guys, she watched for a moment as they were thrown back into the wall. 

Duo took control again and ran out of the room. Dashing to the hanger, he knocked out the pilot of a waiting airplane and dumped him over by the wall. By the time he had buckled in and prepared for take off, a group of Maganacs had run into the hanger, but they were stopped from stopping him as he shot off into the rising sun.

Quatre and Trowa were just getting to their feet when Rasid entered the dinning room to tell them that Duo had escaped. "How did he do that?" Trowa asked as he pulled himself painfully to his feet and leaned against the wall.

"That was a physic attack. I was hit with it earlier when Duo first woke up. Apparently, one of the other personalities has physic powers." Quatre said as Rasid led him over to a chair where he sat gratefully.

_ _

_'I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I just betrayed him.'_ Howard said from the phone. He hadn't seen what had happened but he had heard everything.

"I do too, but he needs help." Quatre said quietly.

_ _

_'I need to get the Gundam ready to be shipped. I'll talk to you later.' _Howard said and hung up.

"I just hope he'll be ok." Quatre said and sighed as he looked out the window where he could see he small plane disappearing over the horizon.

******

TBC

   [1]: mailto:videlchan@hotmail.com



	2. chapter2

Shattered Minds

*************

Chapter 2

*************

Duo sighed as he boarded the plane and sat down in his window seat. It had been two long days since he had escaped from Quatre's base. He had first gone to England, his closest safe base where he picked up his fake ids, passports, weapons, and extra clothes. After he had finished packing, he had gone to work on creating a separate identity for himself, which wasn't to hard. He even did some pictures on the computer where he would take some pictures of him dressed as a girl and some of him as a guy and scan them into the computer, where he put them together so he had a bunch of pictures of him and his 'sister'.

Now on the plane, he wondered what his life in America would be like. It wasn't as if he was on a mission and would be out of there within a week or two. No, he was going into hiding in a place he had never been to before, and he was a little scared. He didn't even have his Gundam because it had already been shipped to outer space by the time he had even gotten near the base. He had flown by just in time to see it launched. 

Well, I guess that it's time for us to learn to get by on our own. We'll have to get a job and enroll at the nearest high school. It shouldn't be too hard. I mean, we already have a place to live and we hacked into that bank and shipped some money into an account for us. It's not like we're totally helpless like normal fifteen year olds. Bitter said quietly to Duo, who had been very silent for the past two days.

I know, but I still can't get over the fact that this is all happening because they thought that we were crazy. I mean, I trusted them and they turn around and stabbed me in the back. thought back just as quietly.

You can't really blame them, Duo. They haven't really be around to many people like us. Guardian said but Duo interrupted her before she could say anything else. Yes, I can blame them. Sure, they thought I was insane and I can understand that to a point, but they took away all I held dear and then tried to drug me. That I can't forgive.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to change his mind right now, Guardian dropped the subject. As the jet took off, Duo silently contemplated the other pilots and their reactions to what Quatre and Trowa would tell them, unknowing that at Howard's repair ship, that those confrontations were happening at that precise moment.

"What?" Heero growled at the image on the vid phone in front of him. He had just arrived at the base a few minutes before and had been told immediately that he was to call Quatre at his desert base by Howard.

_'You heard me, the doctors want us to find Duo as soon as possible. We won't be having that many missions until we find him. In fact, Dr. J said that this was your next mission. The rest of us will be taking over your other one's until he's found and sent to Professor G for treatment.'_ Quatre said from the other end of the line.

"I will have to confirm this with Dr. J." Heero said and saw Quatre nodded.

_'Fine, but where are you going to start looking?'_

"Japan. You go to outer space and look." Heero said and cut the connection before the blond could say anything else. He glared at the phone for a moment before he turned and stormed back to his Gundam where his laptop was plugged in. 'Duo insane? I guess, I can see that. He has always been slightly crazy but he got the job done. Now he was a liability to them and he needed at be under wraps as soon as possible.' He thought to himself as he sat down on the arm of the mobile suit and picked up his laptop. There was an email from Dr. J. waiting.

'Find Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe and send him to Professor G on colony L2. He is to be considered insane and dangerous. There will be no missions until this mission is completed.'

After reading it through and deleting it, he sent back a simple message of his own saying, 'Mission accepted.'

Shutting the laptop, he heard the whine of another mobile suit landing on the massive ship and hurried out to check and see who it was. Seeing the massive form of the Shenlong Gundam, he came out into the open and headed for Wufei as he shut down his Gundam and climbed down. Meeting him at the feet of the huge machine, Heero snapped, "Have you received your new orders?"

"No. What new orders?" Wufei demanded.

"Duo has gone insane and most of our missions will be stopped until we can find him and send him to Professor G on L2. Check your laptop." Heero said flatly and Wufei looked at him in shock.

"Maxwell, insane? Wasn't he always?"

"Apparently not."

"Hump, weakling." Without another word, the two separated, Wufei back into his Gundam to check his laptop and Heero to finish refueling his Gundam and to begin his search.

Duo landed at the airport in Rhode Island and took a taxi to West Warwick. The car stopped at 36 Epworth Ave. After he paid the cab, he looked up at the mother/daughter house and sighed. (For those of you who don't know what a mother/daughter house is, it's a two-floor house with two apartments in it, usually identical with doors for both in a stairway towards the back.) It was a light blue color and slightly run down. The whole town, in fact, was slightly run down. There were toys all over the front yard, which didn't have too much grass, and even more junk on the front porch. Following a sidewalk that went down the side of the house, he saw a set of three steps with an overhang leading to another door.

Going through the door, he saw two doors, one on each side. The one to the right led to the down stairs apartment and the one on the left lead to a rickety staircase that went to the basement. Deciding to explore the bottom half another time, he headed up the twisting stairs right in front of him and unlocked the door at the top of them. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into his new home.

The others had been silent for the entire trip from the airport, and now Bitter spoke up. Well, this is just wonderful. Couldn't you find a better place?

This was the only place in our price range and beside, who would think to look for me here? Duo asked as he looked around. The dirty white paint on the walls needed to be redone and the stove needed to be cleaned and the wall cabinets were sagging just a little bit. Walking into the room right in front of him at the other end of the kitchen, he found a small bedroom with a tiny closet with two windows. This would be perfect for a study. Bitter said grudgingly while Play, Flirt and Lyric protested loudly until Guardian told them all to be quiet. Addressing Duo, she said, Let's go look at the room next to this one, near the sink. You know, the one without a door?

Sure. Do said back to her and left the small room and went to the one next to it. They decided that it was a living room as it was the second biggest room in the house and had three windows. Across the kitchen from the living room was a tiny bathroom with a bedroom on the adjacent wall next to it. There was one more bedroom next to that one and Play immediately exclaimed, This is my room!

And how will you be living in it? Bitter asked acidly.

As Play started sniffling, Guardian said calmly, That was a great idea, Play. As Duo is supposed to be living here with his 'sister' she will need a bedroom, too. The one next to the bathroom will be Duo and the guys' room while this one will be Duet and us girls' room.

But how will you guys use it if we did turn it into a girl's room? Duo asked as he want back to his bag and dragged out his laptop.

You were planning on letting us out sometimes, right? Flirt asked coyly.

Um….I guess.

Well, where would we hang out and do things when we're home? Your room? No way! We want our own place. Flirt exclaimed happily and Duo remained silent for a moment.

Besides, what if you invite a new friend here after school or work? They would wonder where your sister slept. This will lend credence to our cover story. Guardian said and Duo reluctantly agreed.

"Well, this place needs some furniture and some other things. I guess it's time to go shopping." Duo said out loud as he opened his wallet and checked to see if there was money and his check card were there. The card and the account were in Duet's name, with his as a secondary name so it would take longer for the others to tack him with that.

Four hours later, Duo was back at his new house driving a black Dodge Pickup truck loaded with the pieces of two full sized beds, sheets, blankets, pillows, clothes for him and 'Duet', which Guardian and the other girls picked out, a stereo and a few CDs, and some groceries. The furniture store in Artic was supposed to bring the rest of the furniture in the morning.

"Well, lets get this stuff up stairs." Duo said out loud as he grabbed the grocery bags first and headed for the stairs. As soon as the food was put away in the fridge and the cabinets, he ran back down the spiral stairs. He was soon running back up the stairs with the bags of clothes and other things. A third trip was just for the pillows and CDs and another for the stereo system. On his fifth trip, he saw a tall man about 18 standing next to the truck.

"Hi, can I help you?" Duo asked as he approached slowly.

"Yeah, my name's Justin and I live next door." The guy said, pointing to the white two-story house behind him. On the porch was an older woman with dark brown hair, obviously his mother, and two girls, one about six with blond hair and an older one with golden brown hair, probably about sixteen. "Do, you need any help?" Justin asked, drawing Duo's attention back to him.

"Sure, my sister isn't here yet, so I have to bring the beds up the stairs. You're welcome to help if you want." Duo said smoothly and watched as Justin waved to his family and the others came over.

"I'm Elaine and these are my daughters Sashi and Shayla." They older woman introduced her and her daughters before they all started picking up various pieces of the beds. Sashy grabbed the nuts and bolts to put the beds together with while Shayla and Elaine each picked up a piece of the bed that connected the head and foot boards. 

After the three females had carried their loads up stairs, Duo and Justin picked up on of the head boards and maneuvered I up the stairs with a bit of difficulty. The headboard was worth the effort to Guardian and the other girls though. It was for their room and it was a wood one that had roses carved on it and varnished a deep brown that shined. They had picked it out and Duo just couldn't refuse them.

"Wow, this thing is heavy." Justin said as he lowered his end to the floor in the girls' room.

"Yeah, but Duet loves things like this." Duo said as he mopped the sweat from his forehead.

"Duet? Who's that?" Sashy asked. She was leaning against the doorframe.

"My twin sister. She should be here tomorrow." Duo lied while internally wincing. He hated to lie. You're not lying, Duo. All of us girls are your 'sister' in a sense and we will be here tomorrow because we are going to take control and sign us up for school. Guardian said and the others agreed, making Duo feel a little less guiltily.

"Well, let's go get the next part." Justin said and led the way back down the stairs. Within and hour, they had both beds upstairs and put together in the right rooms. Duo's bed was a black lacquered one that meet the approval of the other guys while the girls' rose carved bed was perfect for them, and even Elaine and the others like it. After saying goodbye to his new friends, Duo went back out to a hardware story about ten miles away and bought paint and paint brushes and drop clothes and everything else he would need to paint the rooms the colors he wanted.

Working quickly, he painted his room black and the girls room a light purple with a darker purple trim. The living room was redone in white, along with the kitchen. The study was done in blue and it was almost midnight by the time he was done. Luckily he had grabbed the quick drying paint that dried within an hour, so he had enough time to do two coats by the time the delivery people were supposed to get there with the furniture.

"I'm so tired!" Duo exclaimed as he yawned. He had been painting since before two o'clock and now it was after twelve. 

Well, let's just make at least one of the beds and go to sleep.Bitter said tiredly.

But I wanted to stay up! Play pouted, despite the fact that she sounded like she was going to pass out.

I don't care. I just want to sleep a little. The furniture is going to be here around eight and I want to be up and showered before then. Duo said before anyone else could protest.

In ten minutes, his bed was made with the black sheets and black comforter and he was dressed in gray boxer shorts and a black tank top and was already under the covers and asleep.

Duo woke up to a loud, buzzing noise going off right next to his ear. Grumbling, he slapped at the noise and hit the alarm clock right on the snooze button, silencing the thing, before he got up groggily.

Anyone else awake? he asked the others as he looked at the alarm clock and saw it was 6:00am.

No, and neither should you." Bitter snapped, then receded into a corner of Duo's brain where Duo couldn't find him. As no one else appeared to be awake, Duo just yawned and stumbled out of his room and into the bathroom. Half an hour later, he walked out in a huge burst of steam, drying his hair, dressed only in a pair of black boxer shorts

"That's much better!" he said happily as he entered his room and plopped down on the bed. Grabbing his brush, he gently started working the tangles out while humming happily to himself. Nothing could go wrong so early in a day, especially when Duo was in such a good mood.

Just as he finished brushing his hair, he heard a knock on the door. Frowning at his clock, which read quarter after seven, he hurried to the door and opened it. Outside, an older man was standing, looking like he was wishing he were anywhere but there. "Are you Duo Maxwell?" the man asked and Duo nodded slowly, unsure about who this man was and what he wanted.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I have a rush delivery for you." the man said sourly as he handed Duo a clipboard. Duo signed his name, confused about what he had ordered besides the furniture. He was about to ask the man when another one came up the stairs carrying a huge box that had Samsung written across the side with a picture of a TV. Suddenly, everything clicked and he smiled while gesturing for the men to come in. 

"You can just put it over there. How many more boxes are there?" 

"About twenty, all as big as that box." The first man said, gesturing to the TV box.

"Let me finish getting dressed and I'll come down and help." Duo said and the guy nodded, his expression seeming to brighten just a bit as he realized that he wouldn't have to move as many boxes now.

In five minutes, he was dressed in baggy black jeans and a black t-shirt, and his hair was in a neat braid. He had decided that his priest outfit stood out too much, so he changed his wardrobe while he was in hiding. Every once in a while, he might wear it but for now, most of his clothes were going to be jeans and t-shirts.

Stamping his feet into boots and quickly lasing them up, he ran out the door and down the stairs where the deliver men were just putting the last of the boxes just out side of the door. "I'll take them from here, you've been a great help." Duo said as he tipped the men. Watching them leave, he wondered if they had a clue about what they had just brought him.

Chuckling, he turned around and started carting the heavy boxes up the stairs. Once they were in the house, he put them into the living room. "I can't believe that they're here."

What's here? Play asked as she woke up.

The stuff we shipped from our safe base. Duo said happily as there was another knock on the door. That must be the furniture, but they're a little early. Bitter said as Duo headed for the door. Sure enough, it was the movers. As he let them in, he had to move out of the way as the black couch was carried it, almost knocking him over. It took three hours to get everything set up, but when the movers left, Duo was in heaven. 

His room now had a dresser and a full-length mirror, along with posters plastered all over the walls. On the dresser, was his stereo that had just arrived in one of the boxes. His window had heavy black curtains that could cut out every bit of light and the rest of his clothes were stored in his drawers. 

The girl's room had a dresser that matched the motif on the bed with a huge mirror attached. The window had lacy curtains and the stereo that he had bought yesterday was sitting on a small table near the window.

The living room now had a black couch and love seat on two walls facing the entertainment center where there was a big TV, VCR, and DVD player. On the fourth wall were two bookshelves that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. One was crammed with various books and knickknacks that he had collected over the years. On the other was hundreds of DVDs and tapes, most of which where of animes. There was also a small glass topped coffee table.

The kitchen had throw rugs in a couple places and a sturdy wooden table with chairs for three people placed around it. The study had a small desk and a desktop computer so that he would have something more permanent than his laptop, which was giving him some trouble.

Finally, I have a place of my own where I can do what ever I want, when ever I want and not have to worry about saving the world all the time! Duo said privately to the others as he flopped down on the couch.

Did you hate fighting? Guardian asked quietly.

No, I loved being able to fight for what I believed in, for peace, but I was always alone. Duo said, his happy mood fading.

What about Howard? Bitter asked.

He was my friend, but he was always busy with repairs and I was always busy training or going on missions. Besides he was like 40 years older then me. How close could we possibly be? Duo protested as he grabbed the remote and started the DVD that he had put in the machine earlier. As the opening credits for the old serried Inu-Yasha started, Duo spoke up again.

For a while Quatre was my friend and when we had missions together, we would hand out. He was the only one with a personality. I mean, Heero was always so cold and mission obsessed, Trowa never even showed that, and Wufei was so obsessed with justice that I couldn't even go near his without him finding something wrong with me and start ranting. he said quietly as he watched Inu-Yasha as he was shot with the magic arrow from his beloved.

I think it's time we got out of here. Guardian said suddenly after a few minutes of silence.

What do you mean? Duo asked dully, still wrapped up in his depressing thoughts. 

In answer, Guardian took control and turned off the TV. Standing she said, "It's time we register for school." She said out loud and headed for her room. In one of the boxes were costumes that Duo had used and one of them was for when he had to enroll in an all girls' school. Along with the school uniform were some skirts, dresses, and even a bra with blowup cups to make him look more feminine. 

Drawing the shade down, she quickly striped and put on some panties and the bra, blowing it up until she was a size C. Over these she slipped on a red and black Chinese style silk dress that was sleeveless and went to just below the knees with two slits that went to mid thigh. On the inside of the collar, there was a voice synthesizer that made Duo's deeper voice into a lovely alto with a hint of huskiness. She added the red spiked heels that went with the outfit and studied herself in the mirror

Let me do the makeup! Flirt shouted and Guardian agreed. Slipping back, Flirt took over and grabbed the makeup from the box and put it on the dresser. Before starting on the makeup, however, she turned to the radio and put in a CD. Turning it to a song, she rushed back to the mirror just as the first strands of No Doubt's song 'Don't Speak' started playing. 

With sure motions, Flirt applied a base, cover up, and blush before turning to her eyes. Outlining them in black eyeliner, she put just a touch of violet eye shadow to help bring out the color of her eyes and finished with adding mascara to her long lashes. Grabbing the brush, she took out the braid and brushed out all the kinks to her still slightly damp hair until it hung in a mahogany waterfall that fell to her knees.

It's going to get in our way. Guardian said and the other girls agreed, though the boys stayed silent.

How about if you use a headband? Play suggested, but Flirt vetoed that idea saying that it wouldn't look right.

Wait, I've got an idea… Flirt trailed off as she divided the hair in half and quickly it up in heart shaped odangos, like Chibi-Chibi from Sailor Moon Stars. Well? What do you think? she demanded of the others as she studied her reflection. 

I love it! Play shouted happily.

Yes, I have to agree, it is good. Guardian agreed as she took control again. Studying her reflection on last time, she hit the power switch on the radio, grabbed the purse that went with the dress and put her ID and check card in it before leaving. You, know, we should get our ears pierced. All girls have it and so do a lot of the guys. Guardian said as she locked the door and headed down to the truck. 

We also have to get a car suitable for a teenage girl. she said as she got in and slammed the door closed.

Ok, but we're going to have to hack the bank again then, as we're starting to get a little low on cash. Duo said, but Bitter interrupted.

Well, you have to get jobs for each side right? So why doesn't 'Duet' put all her money she makes off her job to get her car. That way we can blend in better. After all, people don't usually pay in full for a car. They make payments. he said and the others reluctantly agreed.

I guess. We need to find jobs fast. Guardian said quietly as she pulled out of the driveway and head for West Warwick Senior High School to register. 

"Where is he?" Quatre asked softly as he stared out the window of the shuttle as it flew through space. It was a privet shuttle with almost no one on board beside himself. He was on his way to Colony L1, the first of the colonies that he was to check for the missing pilot.

An hour later, the shuttle landed on the colony and he disembarked with the few other passengers, heading directly to the branch of Winner Enterprises that was there. His official reason for being there was to check up on his family's holdings on all colonies. He spent the next week going to meetings and touring factories during the day and searching for Duo during the night.

It took him a week to figure out that Duo wasn't there and he left for the next colony, L2, Duo's home colony. On the way, he remembered what Duo had said to Trowa about his life growing up there.

**************

Flashback

**************

Duo looked at Trowa over his shoulder.

"Basically, I have your mercenaries to thank for ruining my life again, huh? I mean, it was bad enough when my parents where killed and I had to live on the streets. It was just as bad when most of the street gang, including Solo, were killed in the plague when there was medicine available, but they didn't want to waste it on street rats, but know I find out that father Maxwell and Sister Helen would be alive if your group had been on time?!" by the end, Duo was screaming and Trowa and Quatre were staring at him in shock.

***************

End Flashback

***************

'I think that I should try and find out more about his past.' Quatre thought as the shuttle headed towards the colony. It would be about an hour until they would land, so Quatre opened his laptop and started looking up information from L2's records.

Typing in Solo first, he got only a small newspaper clipping.

Street Gang Almost Wiped out by Plague 

Earlier today, the remains of a small street 

gang was found in one of the alleys in the rundown 

section of the colony. The only child to be positively 

identified was Solo, the leader or the gang. 

The little boy with the long brown hair that 

was believed to be second in command was no where 

to be found, but the alliance continues to 

hunt for this small boy to keep from spreading

 the plague to others.

"That's…horrible." Quatre whispered to himself as he reread the article. He was positive that the brown haired boy it was talking about was none other than Duo. He contemplated the impact that would have on a young Duo for a moment before he looked up the next piece of information. This time, there was a short vid clip along with an article. 'I think I'll read the article first.' He thought as he brought it up on his screen.

Maxwell Massacre

Yesterday at noon, rebel soldiers took over the 

Maxwell church and held Father Maxwell, 

owner and reverend of the church captive along 

with the Nun and the children who stayed there 

at the orphanage. The Alliance sent troops to 

capture the rebels, but unfortunately, everyone in the 

church has died except one small boy. He is 

currently being held in protective custody with 

the Alliance military to determine his exact role

 in this tragedy as he had no marks on him, but

 was, none the less, at the scene as police and 

medics arrived after the Alliance soldiers left. 

There was also a stolen mobile suit at the church,

 but there were no pilots around. This unexplained

 event has caused all involved some concern.

Quatre shuddered and called up the vid clip as soon as he shut down the window with the article. He settled back as the clip started playing.

"I'm here on the scene of the Maxwell Massacre the day after this tragedy happened." A good looking woman said as she gestured around her at the remains of a church where many people were poking around the wreckage, which was liberally spotted with dried blood.

"This was once a church run by Father Maxwell, a catholic priest who also ran an orphanage for war orphans who were living on the street. He was a kind old man who everyone liked, but that didn't stop the rebels from taking him and everyone in the church as hostages while they made their demands of the Alliance Military." The woman continued as pictures flashed on the screen. 

The first was a picture of a kind looking older man with gray hair wearing a black ministers outfit with the customary white tab on the front of his throat.  After that picture disappeared, another showing father Maxwell and a Nun taking care of a bunch of children too it's place. The next was a scene as rebel soldier. Using Father Maxwell as a shield as he shouted orders to men in tanks and mobile suit who had surrounded the building. 

Suddenly, the woman appeared on the screen again and continued talking. "At roughly 12:30 yesterday, the rebels opened fire on the soldiers, who returned fire. Within twenty minutes everyone in the church was dead. Just as the soldiers were leaving, though, a small boy ran up and threw himself at one of the victims, who had barely survived that long. The boy held the Nun, Sister Helen while she talked to him for a moment before she died. A citizen near by had his camcorder with him and he recorded what happened.

A Video clip started playing suddenly as the woman disappeared. Quatre was shocked as he watched a boy, no more than 10 or 11 run up out of no where and fall to his knees next to a nun whose habit was missing. He was dressed like Father Maxwell had been and it was obviously a young Duo. He cradled her head on his lap as she said something to him while he shook his head; tears falling freely down his face, which could barely be seen through a curtain of brown hair that had fallen out of a braid that trailed down to his waist. The woman was talking to softly for it to be picked up, but when she finally died, the boy's scream of 'No!' could be heard clearly. 

He knelt there for a minute or so crying and saying no as he hugged the cooling body to his chest and rocked back and forth slightly before a man in an Alliance uniform came up and dragged him away from her. "Let me go!" the Duo screamed as he struggled against the man's grip on his arm. Suddenly he stooped and threw a handful of rocks at the startled man's face. As the man let him go, the he grabbed something out of his boot and slashed at the man with a small knife, screaming, "I'll get you for this you bastards! I will kill all of you for killing them!"

Another soldier rushed up and grabbed the boy from behind while the first grabbed the knife away from him and sent a powerful blow across the boy's face, knocking him out, yelling as he did, "You little demon!" As they boy slumped over, the two soldiers dragged him away and threw him into the back of a van and climbed in after him. The clip ended with the van driving away.

"We're not sure who this boy was but it is being speculated that he was a war orphan that was staying at the church and had been away at the time of the attack. He is currently being held in custody by the Alliance and is being called Maxwell's Demon. This is Dora Goody, coming at you from L2's lower south side. Now, back to you, Dave." 

The clip cut off there, and Quatre looked at the blank screen for a moment in shock. He had heard of the Maxwell Massacre from Trowa and had seen the pain in Duo's eyes when he had talked about it, but the news clip hit him with the strength of a sledgehammer in the chest.

"Poor Duo.' he said quietly and he had to admire Duo for being so happy all the time, despite what had happened to him in the past. It also made him wish he hadn't been so hard on Duo when he was brought to the desert base and he had found out about the MPD.

****  
TBC


End file.
